One of our basement pump engineers visited a property recently after we received a phone call from a concerned customer in London worring about a bad smell in her kitchen that seemed to be coming from the basement.

Upon arrival at the property there indeed appeared to be an odour coming from the basement but only upon opening the basement pump did the engineer find the source of the odour. Fatty deposits in the water from the dishwasher were found to be clinging to the pump and float switch (See picture). If left untreated this would have caused a potential flooding problem as the float switch would become too heavy and not rise with the water level. The float switch detects the amount of liquid in the sump and then activates the pump to remove the liquid from the sump chamber and avoid flooding.

On the base of pump the inlet holes had also become blocked with fatty deposits which would result in the water not being able to be sucked up by the pump and possible flooding of the basement had the owner not called in the Basement Sump & Pump Co to perform a ‘Clean & Check’ on the system.

Thankfully the relieved homeowner was spared a flooded basement!

Keeping your basement dry

To keep your basement sump and pump in tip top condition call us to arrange a ‘Clean and Check’ – don’t forget if you do not get your pump serviced you may also be invalidating your guarantee! Simply call 0800 019 9949 or complete our on-line request form for more information.